By God...

By God, if he tries to attack me, he will find me a tough soldier and a strong swordsman." In the speech, Ziad had exaggerated the army strength to frighten Muawiya; he had not put down his arms till Imam Hasan (as)'s peace with Muawiya, and had been loyal to the Imam (as) all along.[^2] Apart from the above plans, Muawiya had sent a large number of spies to Iraq.

The learned scholar Baqar Qarshi writes in this regard:"Muawiya invited his close associates, informed them about Imam Hasan (as)'s accession to caliphate and drew their attention to the fact that if they did not manage to control the situation, they would never be able to establish their kingdom.

After long deliberations it was decided to take two key steps: (a) "Spies should be sent to those areas that had paid allegiance to Imam Hasan (as), particularly to Kufa and Basra to assess the social and cultural atmosphere there, to determine their plans and to find out the extent of their love for the 'Ahlul Bayt' (as). Apart from that, they should be made to feel the terror of Muawiya, his power and strength.

(b) "Correspondence should be started with the dignitaries and tribal leaders; they should be bribed and provided large sums of money so that they may obey Muawiya." [^3] It cannot be denied that the spies of Muawiya were active in Yemen, Hijaz, Persia and Iraq since the time of the caliphate of Hazrat ‘Ali (as). During the period of Imam Hasan (as), the spy network was extended. The historians mention in particular the arrest of two spies, one of whom was arrested in Kufa and the other in Basra.

Imam Hasan (as) sentenced them to death, thereby suppressing the spy movement and perfidy through Islamic penal law. Later the Imam (as) wrote the following letter to Muawiya: "There is no doubt that you have sent many spies towards us, which implies that you are planning war against us. I have no doubt about the same. If Almighty God so wills, you should wait for the same.

I have also learnt that you have expressed your rejoicing at the sad incident, which no sane person would do." [^4] In this letter Imam Al-Mujtaba (as) had warned Muawiya against his destructive inclinations. On the one hand, he informed Muawiya that he was aware of his intention to wage a war, while on the other, he stated that he was determined and fully prepared to face him in the battle field. In addition, he castigated him at rejoicing at the martyrdom of Hazrat ‘Ali (as).